UCSI Vice-Chancellor and President, Senior Professor Dato’ Dr Khalid (left) receiving the software licenses donation on behalf of the University from Landmark Software Services Central Asia Country Manager, Addie Murray.

KUALA LUMPUR: The year 2016 kicked off with new collaborations that promise better industry engagement and an enriched learning experience for the students of UCSI University’s (UCSI) Faculty of Engineering, Technology & Built Environment. 

In January, the Faculty received 10 Decision Space® Well Planning software and NEXUS software licenses from Landmark, a Halliburton business line. The software is worth more than US$9 million and is the standard for the oil and gas industry. 

Through this UCSI will provide its students with the new state of the art visualisation and collaboration software as well as reservoir simulation software for their classroom learning. The Decision Space® Well Planning software and NEXUS software licenses allow the University to provide an industry-driven education for the students. 

The collaboration with Halliburton will also provide the students with a better understanding of real-life situations in their future professions and allow more active participation of the industry in the education field. 

Halliburton has maintained a close long-term industrial partnership with the University, specifically, UCSI’s Petroleum Engineering department. The University had the honour of receiving representatives from Halliburton as Industrial Board Members. Halliburton representatives are also UCSI guest lecturers and speakers during the University’s career talks. The company has also hosted UCSI students for site visits over the years. 

In the same month, UCSI expanded its internationalisation initiative by inking a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Queen’s University Belfast (Queen’s), United Kingdom. 

The MOU was signed by UCSI Vice-Chancellor and President, Senior Professor Dato’ Dr Khalid Yusoff and Queen’s School of Pharmacy Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor James McElnay. 

The MOU emphasises collaboration in advanced entry or articulation of students, exchange of graduate students for study and research, as well as joint research activities. Staff members will also benefit from an interchange in terms of research, teaching and discussions. 

According to Dr John Tan Teng Hwang, UCSI’s Electrical & Electronics Engineering Head of Department, this collaboration is a historical moment as it marks a new journey with Queen’s — a prestigious member of the Russell Group, an organisation that represents 24 leading research-intensive universities in the United Kingdom. 

“We are taking a big step towards internationalisation and globalisation in research, education and knowledge transfer. Ultimately, both parties will advance towards a better future.”